Taylor Swift released her fifth album, 1989, on Monday October 27. This is Swift’s first all pop album.
Swift’s past work has been mostly country with little pop. Because 1989 is a new sound, Swift will have to find a new way to perform her material. Swift must accommodate for fans of her new sound, while finding a way to keep her older fans. However, she faces the dilemma of performing her older songs while still maintaining her newfound pop image.
Swift has many country songs that have been huge hits, such as “You Belong With Me” and Love Story. Will Swift be able to perform these songs in the same way and still keep her new image? The answer is probably not. Swift has already remixed Love Story to conform with her new style.
Concerts always contained songs from her past albums. These were her career-making songs, her first hits. To keep her old fans happy, she must perform her older songs.
In the past, Swift could perform her songs with very little dancing or stage dancers because her songs were slower and not as upbeat. With her new style of music, people will not want to watch her simply stand there and sing. Swift will have to add background dancers and more stage theatrics in order to keep her fans entertained.
Swift will also not have as many instruments on stage. Most of her new songs are electronic and the instruments are electronic. These can be created with a recording or a small section on stage.
Another aspect Swift will have to take into consideration is autotune. 1989 has many songs on it, such as “Shake It Off”, that have been heavily autotuned. Unless Swift lip syncs, the songs will sound very different live. Swift, who doesn’t normally lip synch, will risk losing the sound that people hear on the radio.
Overall, Swift faces many challenges. Red, her fourth album, helped with the transition from country to pop, because it had very little country on it. Even with a smooth transition, Swift will have a hard time keeping both her new and old fans happy.
Swift will undoubtedly go on tour, where all questions will be answered.
